The body includes various passageways including blood vessels such as arteries, and other body lumens. These passageways sometimes become occluded or weakened. For example, they can be occluded by a tumor, restricted by plaque, or weakened by an aneurysm. When this occurs, the passageway can be reopened or reinforced, or even replaced, with a medical endoprosthesis. An endoprosthesis is an artificial implant that is typically placed in a passageway or lumen in the body. Many endoprostheses are tubular members, examples of which include stents, stent-grafts, and covered stents.
Many endoprostheses can be delivered inside the body by a catheter. Typically the catheter supports a reduced-size or compacted form of the endoprosthesis as it is transported to a desired site in the body, for example the site of weakening or occlusion in a body lumen. Upon reaching the desired site the endoprosthesis is installed so that it can contact the walls of the lumen.
One method of installation involves expanding the endoprosthesis. The expansion mechanism used to install the endoprosthesis may include forcing it to expand radially. For example, the expansion can be achieved with a catheter that carries a balloon in conjunction with a balloon-expandable endoprosthesis reduced in size relative to its final form in the body. The balloon is inflated to deform and/or expand the endoprosthesis in order to fix it at a predetermined position in contact with the lumen wall. The balloon can then be deflated, and the catheter withdrawn.
When the endoprosthesis is advanced through the body, its progress can be monitored, e.g., tracked, so that the endoprosthesis can be delivered properly to a target site. After the endoprosthesis is delivered to the target site, the endoprosthesis can be monitored to determine whether it has been placed properly and/or is functioning properly. Methods of tracking and monitoring a medical device include X-ray fluoroscopy and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).